Immortal Freeloader 114 (Patreon)

I was glad that I focused on the formation, as merely a day later, a solo figure approached the capital, flying leisurely on a sword. The formation master.

I let out a relaxed sigh when I noticed his cultivation level. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. A relatively strong one — Eight Stage, which I could detect directly thanks to the improvements in my formation technique — but still, I was confident that I could trick him.

I walked to the living room, where Aisnam was practicing her palm techniques as she tried to perfect her technique. “I just received a message. The formation expert is on the way,” I said.

“Let’s greet him,” she said.

“Actually, we better not,” I said. “The message says our allies will check to make sure he doesn’t leave any trap. Until then, we better not stay at Spring Palace,” I said. “I can mix with the guards, while you better go get the Queen from the palace, and visit Entsa Pavilion disciples, just in case,” I said. “That way, they can’t sabotage you. And, it might help your disguise if they call you to fight immediately.”

It was a good excuse to make sure she wouldn’t worry about her disguise. By ‘knowing’ about her supposed switch between the Queen and the servant, I ensured that she didn’t need to worry about her identity. And, by sending her away from the capital, I removed the temptation of dealing with her directly.

There were too many ways a formation expert could attack her. And, while I was confident that I could protect her, depending on the type of attack, there was no guarantee I could do while keeping hidden. It was safer to just remove the temptation altogether.

The formation expert floated into the city without caring about anyone like he owned the city, confident that a mortal city held no danger. He was mistaken, of course, but luckily for him, I had to actually stay hidden.

I was strong, but not strong enough enough to challenge Kartpa Valley. I had no idea how strong they were, but considering they were sending Golden Core elders to handle their chores rather than treating them as dangerous strategic weapons, it was clear that they had stronger people.

I didn’t think I could survive learning their exact strength, not anytime soon.

Formation expert arrived at the Spring Palace unimpeded and floated in front of it. I expected him to step inside. Instead, he made a fist, glowing with Qi. After gathering his energy for a few seconds, he punched.

Demolishing Spring Palace completely.

“Asshole,” I muttered as I watched him destroy the closest place I had to a home in this world, ignoring the temptation to teach him a lesson, one that I could teach easily.

Back at the cultivator market, I had struggled against a weaker Foundation Establishment cultivator, but that was with no formation to help me. Here, I could take him down faster than he destroyed the Spring Palace, including a lot of rooms that carried some very pleasant memories with them.

I sighed, once again shocked by the pointless destruction cultivators spread. I might have understood if he was making sure there was no trap in the house, or something similar, but his attitude made it clear that he did so because of his arrogance.

However, rather than walking in directly, he waved his hand, and a pile of spirit stones appeared in front of him. Not a small amount, I noted even as I watched him slowly build a formation, trying to understand his capabilities.

“Manageable,” I muttered as I watched the Qi lines take shape around the garden. There was some difference between the two different major stages, but just like the combat techniques, the difference wasn’t qualitative. It was like trying to build a house from thatch and wood. There were some differences, but the fundamental principles were still the same.

And, while the Qi lines he created were stronger and more functional, there was no comparing the speed between the two of us. He spent almost ten minutes creating a defensive dome, something I could do in seconds.

Probably wasted a lot of Qi in the process, but it wasn’t like I was lacking that particular resource — particularly with my prisoner helping me to gain Qi even faster than Aisnam. I had visited him a few times, and every time, he attacked me with his presence, trying to bully me from his prison.

It just helped me to accumulate a hundred thousand strands of Qi in my inventory. Nothing compared to the amount spiritual vein could provide, but not only was it fully subdued, but also it wasn’t bound geographically.

However, as I watched the formation expert, I stopped thinking about my prisoner, and paid more attention to him. He wasn’t just setting a defensive formation. No, he was also setting an attack formation, one that was buried in the ground rather than linking to the defensive one.

A formation that was strong enough to kill multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He clearly had some ulterior motives. What, I had no idea, nor that I cared much. Even if he stayed with the formation, I could steal the control of the formation. More importantly, I could see him linking the formation to an artifact, which was less efficient than direct control, making it likely that he would pass the control to someone else.

I just didn’t know if it was something they were planning to use it directly, or keep it for a different time.

I was tempted to steal it immediately, but after a momentary consideration, I decided to wait until the formation expert’s departure. It would be safer. Though, I didn’t neglect to add a tiny, impossible-to-notice flaw to Qi transmission, one that would make most of the attack power fizzle uselessly.

A choice that I was happy with as I watched the expert ‘repair’ the stone gate. First, he had set up a temporary protective formation. Thanks to my improved formation knowledge, I could see its function. It was to keep the being behind the door imprisoned. However, since that formation wasn’t anchored, it wouldn’t last long. It would dissolve in a few weeks.

Then, instead of repairing the damaged section, he started working on the intact parts, erasing each of them before replacing them with counterfeit anchors, which completely destroyed the formation that was keeping the being under control.

As I watched him, I was glad I had spent a lot of time improving my formation skills, as without it, I would have to attack him to prevent a potential disaster. But right now, I didn’t need to. I could easily improve his temporary formation to a permanent one by making some adjustments, and linking it to the spirit vein to make it even stronger than the spirit vein.

Not to mention, a formation that I could manipulate easily finally gave me a chance to understand what was the being that was imprisoned, and why it had to be kept captive under the capital.

I wanted to explore it, for one simple reason. Up until now, everything I had touched had shown a tendency to grow out of control, be it visiting a city or helping someone. And, now, the mysterious gate that likely stayed intact for centuries was being used for a conspiracy merely months after my arrival.

Being proactive to prevent a future disaster was a much better idea than waiting until it exploded. Particularly since, to my knowledge, many mortal kingdoms had similar gates underneath. Even if I could keep the one in the Zaim Kingdom safe, I couldn’t do the same for the others. And, since a high-ranking disciple of the Kartpa Valley was targeting this one, it was very likely that they were targeting the others as well.

I had a feeling that it would turn into another mess soon enough, particularly since a Kartpa Valley disciple was setting a trap despite the fact that they were about to take control. It was clearly a complicated mess.

However, after I watched the expert finish his work and float away, I didn’t immediately start working on the formation. For one simple reason.

“Cousin! It’s time for your death. Come to the arena, and accept, so I could remove the stain from our glorious family! I promise not to torture you too long if you kneel and beg!” shouted Aisnam’s cousin, showing exactly how much they cared about family.

I had a death match to spectate … and if necessary, cheat.